2014 In Review and 2015 Resolutions

Hi Everyone! I meant to do this about a week ago, but life has been a bit crazy between holidays and travel. Things are finally settling down enough for me to take a look back at last year in my hobby world and also look forward to plans and aspirations for the year to come.

The Nid army I started 2014 with

I already reviewed my progress on my 2014 Resolutions, so I won't dwell on that too long, but instead look at what I painted and events I attended, before taking a look at plans for 2015.

My year began with the SCARAB GT, running a 5th edition list for the final time, one week after sixth edition came out. I went 3-2 on the weekend and took home Best Painted, to my surprise. After SCARAB, I transitioned fully to the new book and knocked out a couple Crone/Harpies and Exocrines.

After painting four new Monstrous Creatures, on a whim I painted up a good portion of a Necron army, getting to work on my second army.

In April, I helped throw together the Blacksburg RTT, which had a good turnout, with some people coming from out of town.

I ended the weekend 1-1-1, losing to Eldar and drawing against Ron in the final round. 

 Over the summer, I finally got to work on painting up some terrain to match my FAT mats. The most fun of my terrain pieces was the Chaos Altar, where I used the Blood for the Blood God technical paint to add some sinister blood flowing from the eyes of the brass skulls.

I also continued working on my Necron army, knocking out the 2,000 points I would need for Trios.

I also worked on rounding out my Tyranid army for the GT. I placed in the top 20 for painting, which made up for a 4-4 showing at the GT itself.

After a bit of a rut following NOVA and the painting spree that preceded it, I finally painted up the Venerable Dreadnought I had bought for Chandler in August as a birthday present.

To round out the year, we kicked off the Hobby Challenge and I painted up my first month's goals, making sure I was trying some new techniques with my airbrush.

As for 2015, I see myself re-prioritizing a bit and focusing more on the hobby and fun elements. I still plan on attending several tournaments, but outside of those events, I'm not sure I want to be focusing my limited gaming time on an event. As such, my resolutions, while largely the same as last year, will be a little weighted toward painting and enjoying the hobby over competing for top spots at events.

1. Have Fun, Damnit!:
The title says it all. When going to events, I want to be willing to take something I want to play rather than what I think might be best. Last year I got away from playing what I knew and was comfortable with and instead played what I perceived as strongest. Outside of events, I want to be playing the models I like in games that are fun. I want to bring back our gaming weekends (we had all of two last year) and play more fun missions and games.

2. Get the Grey Tide Under Control:
This is a multi-part resolution.

2.A. Have 25% of my 40k models painted:
Using the Excel sheet I put together a few months back, I am currently at 19% of my total 40k backlog painted and done. By the end of the year, I hope to be above 25%, meaning I need to paint about another 70 models.

2.B. Have 50% of my Tyranids (by points) painted:
This one might be a bit of a stretch, but I want half the points of my Tyranids painted and done. I currently have about 3,200 points painted up, and my goal would require another 1,100 points painted up. The next few nids on my list should put me well on my way to that goal, but to keep the 1,100 points accurate, I also need to not add more to the backlog.

2.C. Eliminate Backlog Items:
This applies to all my model collections, but one of my goals is to continue getting rid of armies and models I will likely never touch. Right now, top of that list are my Fantasy armies. I sold off my Skaven last year, but still have probably close to 10,000 points of Dark Elves and Wood Elves that I should part with.

2.D. Fully Paint a Malifaux Crew:
As I jump into a new game, I don't want to repeat my collecting sins from 40k. I have been sorely tempted to buy every Gremlin model available, but at this point, I haven't painted any of them. By the end of the year, I hope to expand my Gremlin collection, but have very close to 100% painted. Part of that will be not buying new models and kits until everything else is just about done.

2.E. Complete the Hobby Challenge:
Again, pretty self explanatory. I want to knock my hobby challenge out of the park and end with near enough a third 1,850 point army fully painted and ready for play.

3. Better Store, Display, and Transport my Models:
Something I've been struggling with is storage, display, and maintenance of my models. Particularly due to transport, my minis tend to be in various states of disarray, and are often in different storage locations. Tyranids in particular present a problem in that they cannot fit in a single (or even two) cases, and so, instead, are spread out across various storage and transport locations. Having some central displays and cabinets will help me keep everything in one place and keep on top of needed repairs.

4. Build Friendships Through Gaming:
As I said last year, I want to get to know more people through the hobby, this blog, and attending events. I feel like my efforts fell off a bit in the latter half of 2014, but as part of being a more positive gamer, I want to use my hobby and gaming time to meet more people and get to know them. Last week I was fortunate enough to attend Mike Brandt's Malifaux Mondays and the Torrent of Fire Thursday Fight Night. While those won't be regular occurrences, I would like to attend again as time allows.

I also want to spend more time with my local gamers and participate more often in events. I don't think I can commit to participating in the local 40k campaign, but being more of a regular would be nice. For one thing, my attendance at the local tournaments fell off sharply last year, and it's something I'd like to get back to.

Planned events for 2015:
January 17, Blacksburg: FTGT Hobby Challenge Kill Team Tournament
February 28, Durham, NC: FTN Seasonal
June/July: FTGT Hobby Challenge Tournament (tentative)
September 3-6, Crystal City: NOVA Trios and 40k GT

These are just the events I know of and can plan for now. I'm hoping to play in some other events such as future FTN Seasonals and other smaller events. As for some super long range planning, I've been toying with thoughts for attending ATC in 2016 (I cannot this year).

Anyway, I'm looking forward to this year and getting back to the 'everyman' roots of the blog. Also, let me know if there's something you'd like to see from the blog in the coming months. We're always looking for new and better ways to interact with our friends and readers.